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Each section is about 300 words long. The articles have cross references to other sections of the encyclopedia; a student reading about Churchill, for example, is steered to an article on the Battle of Britain. If the student's computer is connected to a printer, copies of any information shown on the screen can easily be made...
...type into a keyboard than to flip through pages." Notes Adrian Treves, 14, a ninth-grader at Princeton High: "It's especially good for ancient history and English reports." Sums up Herbert Highfield, director of Princeton High's library: "If popularity indicates success, then this new encyclopedia is very successful indeed...
...everyone, however, is enthusiastic about the electronic Academic American. Librarian Rosalie Pagano at Palisades Park High is worried that "students are relying too much on it. I wish they would transfer their interest to books." Observes Kenneth Kister, editor of the Encyclopedia Buying Guide: "Academic American was created under extreme deadline pressure. It's good, but not as well written as World Book or as comprehensive as the Encyclopaedia Britannica...
Other leading encyclopedia publishers have adopted a cautious attitude toward electronic versions of their reference books. For the past two years, World Book has tested an electronic encyclopedia on CompuServe, another computerized information service, but stopped offering it last month. The company says that the electronic version was not equal to the printed one because it was not illustrated. Since 1981 Encyclopaedia Britannica has been experimenting with a computerized version on Mead Data Central's Nexis system. But Mead's service is aimed at businesses and lawyers rather than schools and families...
Despite the caution of other publishers, Grolier remains optimistic about computerized reference sources. Says Frank Farrell, president of the electronic-publishing division: "We intend to break the constrictions of the printed page and make reading more dynamic." The firm is already planning a videodisc encyclopedia that may use laser technology. This would allow a student with a divided terminal screen to hear a Beethoven symphony while reading an article about the composer...